1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information display system, an information display apparatus, an information display method, and a technology for facilitating operations to display electronic information.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years and continuing, relatively large liquid crystal display screens, plasma display screens, and electronic billboards that display information by scrolling characters, are installed in various public areas such as train stations, in front of train stations, convenience stores, hallways in buildings, coffee shops, etc.
The information displayed on the display devices can be shared by people in public areas. For example, information such as a newsflash can be displayed on an electronic billboard, and immediately provided to a passerby.
However, in order to post electronic information on an electronic billboard, it is necessary to register (enter) the information with a terminal dedicated to the electronic billboard, which entails extremely troublesome operations.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses the following technology. A document capturing device reads image data of a document, inputs appended information such as the title of the document, requests a document storing server to store the document via a communication line, and sends the image data with the appended information. When a request to store the document is received from the document capturing device, the document storing server acquires the image data and appended data, and stores the image data so as to be associated with search information including the appended data. When a request to refer to the document is received from a reference PC via the communication line, the document storing server searches the image data based on the search information. When the image data are found as a result of the searching process, the document storing server sends the document of the image data to the reference PC, so that the document is displayed. Accordingly, a document can be easily displayed to the public via a communication network.
Patent Document 2 discloses the following technology. An image processing apparatus such as a copier is used to read information to be displayed from paper, and store the information in a storage unit. When the copier is not being used, the information is displayed in an electronic format. Accordingly, image processing apparatuses such as copiers installed in convenience stores can be easily used for electronically displaying a personal advertisement or community-oriented information.
Patent Documents 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-73619
Patent Documents 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-156873
The technology disclosed in these patent documents can somewhat facilitate operations for displaying electronic information. However, the user needs to input all appended information each time in order to display the information. Specifically, the title character string, the display date, the display limit, etc. of the information need to be input each time. Therefore, it is extremely troublesome to display electronic information.
Further, in the conventional technology, it is not possible to effectively edit or change the display format of the information once the information is sent to an electronic billboard. The information is just repeatedly displayed.
Moreover, when a display limit has passed, the corresponding information needs to be manually deleted by the user; therefore, it is difficult to manage the information.